City guide · Yunnan

Lijiang travel guide: the old town, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and the villages around it

A UNESCO Naxi old town of canals and cobbles beneath a 5,596 m snow mountain — the cultural heart of north-west Yunnan.

  • Known forOld town · snow mountain · Naxi culture
  • Typical spend¥2,000–3,000 for five days
  • Ideal length3–5 days
  • PaceLively in town, slow in the villages
Plan this trip Lijiang tours

Reviewed by our Beijing team Updated 2026-10-10

The short version

Lijiang is an 800-year-old Naxi old town at 2,400 m, a UNESCO World Heritage site built around canals of snowmelt below Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (5,596 m). Three days is the standard: the old town and Black Dragon Pool, the snow mountain with its glacier park, then the villages of Baisha and Shuhe. It is about 3 hours from Kunming by high-speed rail.

  • The old town (Dayan) is a UNESCO site and a real Naxi town, not a rebuilt set — canals, cobbles and wooden houses, 800 years old.
  • 3 days is standard: old town, then Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, then the northern villages. Add a day for Tiger Leaping Gorge.
  • The snow mountain's big cable car tops out at 4,506 m — book the ticket early, take the altitude seriously, and go on a clear morning.
  • Bring a backpack, not a wheeled case: the old town is cobbled and closed to cars.
  • Fly into LJG or take high-speed rail — Kunming about 3 h, Dali about 2 h, Shangri-La about 4 h.

City guide

First impressions

Photographs from the coast, and what other travellers wrote afterwards.

Lijiang old town — canals, cobbles and 800 years of Naxi life
Lijiang old town — canals, cobbles and 800 years of Naxi life
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, reflected in Black Dragon Pool
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, reflected in Black Dragon Pool
Blue Moon Valley, terraced turquoise pools below the glacier
Blue Moon Valley, terraced turquoise pools below the glacier
Tiger Leaping Gorge — the Jinsha River in a 30 m gap
Tiger Leaping Gorge — the Jinsha River in a 30 m gap

A thousand readers, a thousand Hamlets; ten thousand visitors, ten thousand Lijiangs. It is noisy — you can party all night; it is quiet — you can sit in a sunlit courtyard and drift for hours.

Traveller note — 'The Soft Hours of Lijiang'

Lijiang is the kind of place where some people meet, some heal, some forget and some are forgotten. You meet a person, a town, your own heart — some start wandering here, or stop.

Traveller note — 'Lijiang in Small Pieces'

Lijiang is one of China's most famous old towns, and for once the fame is justified: a UNESCO World Heritage site of 800 years, laid out not on a grid but around three canals of snowmelt that run down off Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and thread through every lane. It is a Naxi town — and the Naxi, with their pictographic Dongba script and their Mosuo cousins, give it a culture you will find nowhere else in China.

The mountain is why the town exists. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain stands at 5,596 m a short drive north, and on clear mornings the old town's tiled roofs and the canals catch the first light coming over its shoulder. A cable car climbs to a glacier park at 4,506 m; the Naxi hold the peak sacred and call the afterlife within it 'the third kingdom of jade dragon'.

For all its looks, Lijiang is not a museum. It is a busy, living tourist town, loud with bars and shops along the canal, and the first-timer's experience can be a crowded one. The trick is to know where to go: the old town at dawn and after dark, the snow mountain on a clear day, and the quiet villages to the north — Baisha with its murals, Shuhe with its canals, and Yuhu at the foot of the peak.

Beyond all this, Lijiang is the hub for north-west Yunnan: Tiger Leaping Gorge, the first bend of the Yangtze, the road towards Shangri-La, and the lakes of Lashi and Lugu. Come for the old town; stay for how much of the province unfolds from it.

Lijiang

Don't leave without

Seven things that are worth rearranging a day for.

  1. Walk the old town at dawn, before the tour groups wake up
  2. Ride the big cable car up Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and stop at Blue Moon Valley
  3. See the snow mountain reflected in Black Dragon Pool — the classic Lijiang photo
  4. Watch the Naxi old music, or the Impression Lijiang show under the mountain
  5. Eat cured-pork hotpot, then join the dancing in Sifang Square
  6. Cycle to Baisha's ancient murals and the stone village of Yuhu
  7. Stand at the edge of Tiger Leaping Gorge, where the river roars through a 30 m gap

Highlights

What not to miss in Lijiang

The old town (Dayan)

The old town (Dayan)

The UNESCO Naxi old town around Sifang Square, with canals threading every lane, Wangu Tower above it and the Mu family mansion — the 'Forbidden City of the Naxi' — at its heart.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

The 5,596 m sacred peak north of town, climbed by cable car to a glacier park at 4,506 m. Go on a clear morning; the view of the summit from the old town is the postcard.

Black Dragon Pool

The classic Lijiang photograph: a spring at the foot of Elephant Hill with the snow mountain reflected in it — plus the Dongba Culture Research Institute and museum behind.

The old town after dark

Lijiang has the most famous bar street in the province, and a quieter side of courtyard music and bonfire dancing in the squares. Loud or soft, it is the town's evening face.

Blue Moon Valley

Blue Moon Valley

Below the snow mountain, the terraced turquoise pools of Blue Moon Valley are the park's most photographed spot, and pair naturally with the cable car and the Impression Lijiang show.

Baisha and Shuhe

The quieter villages on the town's northern edge: Baisha with its Ming-dynasty murals, and Shuhe, the Tea Horse Road market town with canals and stone bridges.

Suggested itineraries

Three slow days, and four with the mountain

The old town and the snow mountain are the anchors; everything else is a half-day from the centre.

The slow three days

3 days

Old town and the pool, then the snow mountain, then the villages to the north.

  1. Day 1

    The old town and Black Dragon Pool

    Start at the old town's landmark waterwheels, then work inward: Sifang Square, the Mu mansion and Wangu Tower for the rooftop view. In the late afternoon, walk to Black Dragon Pool for the reflection of the snow mountain.

    Stay in a guesthouse in or beside the old town, and find dinner of cured-pork hotpot.

    Stops: WaterwheelsSifang SquareMu mansionBlack Dragon Pool

  2. Day 2

    Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

    Take the big cable car up to the glacier park and walk the boardwalk to the viewpoint, then come down to Blue Moon Valley for the turquoise pools. In the afternoon or evening, watch the Impression Lijiang show at the foot of the mountain.

    Return to the old town for dinner and, if you want, the bar street.

    Stops: Glacier parkBlue Moon ValleyImpression Lijiang

  3. Day 3

    Lashi Lake, Shuhe and the villages

    Morning at Lashi Lake for wetlands, birds and a boat, then move on to Shuhe for its canals and quiet lanes. If you ride, push on to Baisha's ancient murals.

    Finish back in Lijiang, or stay the night in Shuhe for the calm.

    Stops: Lashi LakeShuheBaisha

Four days with the mountain and the gorge

4 days

The three-day loop plus Tiger Leaping Gorge — the region's wildest day trip.

  1. Days 1–3

    The classic loop

    Run the three-day plan above — the old town, the snow mountain, and the northern villages — at an easy pace.

    Stops: Old townJade Dragon Snow MountainShuhe

  2. Day 4

    Tiger Leaping Gorge

    Head 60 km north to Tiger Leaping Gorge, where the Jinsha River forces through a 30 m gap between two snow mountains. A half-day covers the main viewpoints; two days lets you walk the classic high trail and sleep at a gorge guesthouse.

    Stops: Tiger Leaping GorgeUpper gorgeMiddle gorge

Sights

The places worth your time

Ticket prices in China change without much notice. Treat these as a guide and confirm on arrival.

Lijiang Old Town (Dayan)

UNESCO · Naxi old town

Lijiang Old Town (Dayan)

A town without walls, with smooth cobbled streets, hand-built timber houses and canals running past every door. The Naxi elders in their indigo coats and octagonal caps still walk the lanes in the morning light. Its main sights are Sifang Square, the Mu family mansion — the 'Forbidden City of the Naxi' — and Wangu Tower for the rooftop view.

Ticket
¥80 old town maintenance fee (now registered to your passport, valid 7 days; needed for the snow mountain, Black Dragon Pool, Mu mansion and Wangu Tower)
Hours
Open all day; quietest at dawn
Where
The centre of Lijiang
Getting there
Bus from the station; airport shuttle or taxi from LJG
Time needed
A full day, plus evenings

Tip Buy the ¥80 maintenance fee once and keep the receipt — it is checked at the snow mountain and the other old-town sights, and it is valid for seven days.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

Sacred peak · Glacier

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

Lijiang's holy mountain and its emblem, a massif that spans subtropical, temperate and cold zones and peaks at 5,596 m. Three cable cars serve it: the big one climbs to a glacier park at 4,506 m, the middle one to a plateau with yak, and the small one to Spruce Meadow. The summit is often veiled in cloud from September to October, so watch the forecast.

Ticket
Park entry fee plus a separate cable-car ticket; the big cable car is the one to book
Hours
Daytime; go in the morning for the clearest views
Where
About 30 km north of Lijiang, in Yulong county
Getting there
Tour buses, a taxi (about ¥100), or a driver; the ¥20 maintenance fee is required
Time needed
A full day

Tip The big cable car sells out and the weather decides everything — book ahead, go early, and if the peak is in cloud, Blue Moon Valley and the meadows below are still worth the trip.

Black Dragon Pool

Park · Classic view

Black Dragon Pool

Follow the Jade River upstream for a kilometre and you come to a clear spring pool beneath Elephant Hill, the snow mountain reflected on its surface — the image that has stood for Lijiang for decades. On the eastern side sits the Naxi Dongba Culture Research Institute, and the Dongba Museum is at the back gate: together the best place to understand the region's pictographic script and belief.

Ticket
Covered by the ¥80 old town maintenance fee
Hours
Daytime
Where
At the foot of Elephant Hill, north of the old town
Getting there
Walk from Sifang Square, about 15 minutes
Time needed
1–2 hours

Tip Come early on a still morning — the reflection only works when the water is flat and the wind is down.

Baisha Old Town

Murals · Village

Baisha Old Town

A quiet village 10 km north of Lijiang, with the same canals and blue sky as the old town but a fraction of the visitors, and its celebrated murals, painted from the Ming dynasty on in a blend of Naxi, Tibetan, Han and Bai styles. It has kept its traditional farming and craft life, which is exactly why people who want the real Lijiang ride out here.

Ticket
Free to enter; murals ticket separate
Hours
Daytime; murals roughly 08:00–18:00
Where
About 10 km north of Lijiang, beside Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
Getting there
Bus 6 to the Baisha intersection (¥2), or bicycle
Time needed
Half a day with Yuhu

Tip Most visitors take the bus; the ones who cycle the quiet back road past the fields have the better trip. Yuhu village, the explorer Joseph Rock's home for 27 years, is a little further on.

Shuhe Old Town

Tea Horse Road · Quiet

Shuhe Old Town

A 4 km town on Lijiang's northern edge and the old Tea Horse Road's market town — quieter and cheaper than the big old town, with the Ming-era Qinglong Bridge and the Nine Cauldrons Dragon Pool. It is the Lijiang that many travellers end up preferring, and the natural place to stay if the crowds tire you.

Ticket
Free to enter the old town
Hours
Open all day
Where
About 4 km north of Lijiang old town
Getting there
Taxi ¥15–20, bus 11, or a bicycle
Time needed
A night, or a long afternoon

Tip Cars cannot enter Shuhe either — get out at the edge and walk in, which is the whole pleasure of it.

Lashi Lake

Wetland · Birdlife

Lashi Lake

A wetland west of Lijiang and a major stopover for migratory birds — more than 80 species winter or rest here, the richest count in north-west Yunnan. The lakeside is green and quiet, with forested hills, and the local horse farms run riding-and-boating trips. It is the easy half-day escape from the old town.

Ticket
Free to the area; riding-and-boating packages about ¥100–120
Hours
Open all day
Where
West of Lijiang county town
Getting there
A chartered car (about ¥15 one way), or a bicycle (about 1 hour)
Time needed
Half a day

Tip The riding packages are fixed-price and fine for a first taste; if you just want birds and water, walk the shore and skip the horses.

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Gorge · Trekking

Tiger Leaping Gorge

One of the world's deepest gorges, 60 km north, where the Jinsha River forces between two snow mountains through a gap said to be narrow enough for a tiger to leap. The gorge runs in three sections — upper, middle and lower — with rapids, boulders and a famous 13 m rock mid-stream. A half-day covers the main viewpoint; two days walks the classic high trail.

Ticket
¥50 for the Lijiang section; buses to the trailhead ¥30 (bridge) to ¥55 (middle gorge)
Hours
Daytime
Where
About 60 km north of Lijiang, on the road to Shangri-La
Getting there
Bus from Lijiang to Qiaotou, or a chartered car (about ¥200 return)
Time needed
Half a day, or two days to trek

Tip To walk the high trail, stay overnight at a gorge guesthouse and start early — the 'Halfway' guesthouse is the classic stop, with its famous viewpoint bathroom.

Eating

What Lijiang tastes like

Naxi cooking is the base, generous and lightly spiced; the town also has plenty of Sichuan kitchens. Sifang Square's short lane is the noodle street.

Lijiang baba

The town's signature bake: local wheat flour worked into a layered 'thousand-page' flatbread, then fried. Sweet with sugar or rose, or savoury with ham or pepper-salt; oily, crisp and very filling. Buy one from a griddle and eat it hot.

Jidou liangfen

A jelly made from a local bean, served two ways: cold in summer with chilli and vinegar, or fried and dressed hot. The two versions taste completely different, and both are cheap — ¥1–2 a portion. The ones from the old stall by the Dongba workshop are famous locally.

Cured-pork hotpot

Larou paigu huoguo, the hotpot built on salt-cured pork ribs hung to dry and then simmered until the meat falls from the bone. Barely seasoned, deeply savoury, and on almost every Lijiang menu.

Black goat hotpot

The region's big, generous hotpot: chunks of skin-on black goat, plus offal and a dozen kinds of vegetable, cooked at the table and sold by weight. Order more vegetables than you think you need, and finish with a bowl of the broth.

Naxi grilled fish

A fish rubbed with salt, pepper and five-spice, grilled and then finished in oil with chilli, Sichuan pepper and peanut. Crisp skin, tender flesh, and the dish the Naxi do best.

Bingfen and liangxiao

A summer favourite: a translucent jelly made from a natural fruit, mixed with rice-flour 'shrimp' and a rose-sugar syrup. Sweet, cold and unusual — the best is said to come from the old ladies' stall by the Dongba workshop.

Where to eat

Restaurants worth the address

Phone numbers are local landlines; add +86 and drop the leading 0 if calling from abroad.

Naxi · Local favourite

Amayi Naxi Food

A family name that has cooked Naxi food for decades, run on the idea of keeping the old dishes alive and asking whether you can take chilli. The Naxi grilled fish — ¥10 a fish — is cheap and excellent, and the jidou liangfen and cured pork ribs are the other reasons to come.

Order
Naxi grilled fish, jidou liangfen, Naxi fried rice, cured pork ribs
Where
May Day Street by the small stone bridge, old town
Phone
0888-5309588

Snacks · Cheap

No. 88 Snack Shop

A little shop specialising in Naxi snacks — fried rice, Naxi rice noodles, fried erkuai — all good and cheap, and distinctly Naxi rather than Tibetan. The jidou liangfen runs sour and spicy; the shop is often packed, but it also takes online orders.

Order
Naxi fried rice, Naxi rice noodles, fried erkuai
Where
88 Xingren upper section, May Day Street, old town
Phone
0888-8888676

Café · Quiet

Prague Café

The oldest and best-known café in the old town, and a good place to slow down. Sit by the window with a book, a coffee and some Western snacks and watch the day go by from morning to evening. Breakfast deals and free Wi-Fi are usually on offer.

Order
Coffee, Western snacks, breakfast set
Where
80 Mishi Lane, Xinyi Street, old town
Phone
0888-5123757

Home cooking · Cheap

Zhongyi Market Xiaoxia Snacks

A plain little restaurant inside Zhongyi Market, with a friendly owner and genuinely good cooking at very low prices — beef tendon, beef heart, eggplant in sauce, tomato-and-egg soup. It gets busy and you may have to wait for a table.

Order
Braised beef tendon, eggplant in sauce, fried ribs
Where
108 Zhongyi market, old town

Yogurt · ¥7

A'an Yogurt

A much-loved yogurt shop with a thick, jelly-like set and a dozen flavours — plain, red bean, fruit. Wood-lined, simple and lined with benches outside, so you can sit and watch the street. About ¥7 a head.

Order
Plain yogurt, red-bean yogurt, fruit yogurt
Where
1-1 Zhenxing Lane, May Day Street, old town

Sleeping

Where to stay

Stay in a Naxi courtyard guesthouse — that is the point of Lijiang. Avoid the very centre and the bar street for quiet, and check the hot water in winter.

Boutique courtyard · From ¥380

Shihe Yuan Inn

Two courtyards on May Day Street, the main one with 13 suites and four standard rooms and a private three-room annexe; even the smallest room is over 40 m². Naxi wood carving blends with modern simplicity, and the inn's signature is its aged-tree pu'er tea. A polished choice in the old town.

Price
From ¥380
Where
30 Wenming Lane, May Day Street, old town
Phone
0888-5358333

Boutique · From ¥580

Yuetangxuan Boutique Inn

A designer inn in one of the few spots that looks out over the whole old town, from Lion Hill. The building and fittings are traditional Naxi, but the service is butler-style and personal. The top of the mid-range in Lijiang.

Price
From ¥580
Where
68 Huangshan upper section, Lion Hill, old town
Phone
0888-5339333

Youth hostel · From ¥40

Old Xie's Caravan Guesthouse

The original Lijiang international hostel and one of the first in China, recommended by Lonely Planet and a filming location for the award-winning film 'One Mile Above'. Typical Naxi architecture and courtyard, simple facilities but excellent value, and it feels like a quiet siheyuan once you are through the door.

Price
From ¥40
Where
25 Jishan Lane, Xinyi Street, old town
Phone
0888-5116118

Youth hostel · From ¥35

Moshang Huakai International Youth Hostel

Close to the start of the number-3 bus route, so transport is easy, and set in a calm, elegant courtyard full of grape vines. Dorms suit backpackers and offer great value; the more classic Chinese-style suites are also worth considering.

Price
From ¥35 (12-bed dorm)
Where
211 Bayi lower section, Qiyi Street, old town
Phone
0888-5309888

Courtyard inn · About ¥150

Wamao on the Roof Inn

A small, literary guesthouse built right on the canal, so it never feels crowded with comings and goings. The kind of place to retreat to for a few days — to recover something, or simply to rest. Quiet, characterful and well priced.

Price
About ¥150
Where
3 Zhaoqing village, Xingwen Lane, Qiyi Street, old town
Phone
0888-5161906

Getting around

Arriving, and moving about

The old town is closed to cars — four car parks ring it, and everything inside is on foot.

By air

Lijiang Sanyi International (LJG) is 28 km south of town, with domestic flights to major Chinese cities and international routes. The airport shuttle runs to the city for ¥20 in about 40 minutes, stopping 3 km short of the old town; a taxi straight to the old town gate is about ¥90.

Airport
Lijiang Sanyi International (LJG), 28 km south
Airport shuttle
¥20, about 40 min to the city
Taxi to the old town
About ¥90
Tip
Sit on the left coming in — the plane banks past the snow mountain

By rail

Lijiang station, in Yulong county, is linked to Kunming (about 3 hours) and Dali (about 2 hours) by high-speed rail, and is the main way in from the rest of Yunnan. It is a 20–30 minute ride from the old town.

Station
Lijiang, Yulong county (20–30 min from the old town)
To Kunming / Dali
About 3 h / 2 h by high-speed rail
To Shangri-La
About 4 h by high-speed rail
To the old town
Bus 11 then 18, or a taxi/shared minibus

Long-distance buses

Lijiang has several bus stations. The main one serves Chengdu, Xichang, Xishuangbanna, Ruili and Heqing; the Express station serves Kunming and Shangri-La; a separate station on Changshui Road runs night sleepers. To Shangri-La, a chartered car or a two-day tour is often easier than the bus.

Main station
25 Kangzhong Road · 0888-5122292
Express station
Shangri-La Avenue · to Kunming and Shangri-La
To Kunming
About 8–10 hours by bus; 3 hours by high-speed rail

Taxis and buses

Buses cover the city for ¥1 a ride. Taxis start at ¥7 and, within the county town, a trip is usually ¥7; outside the city they do not use the meter, so agree a price first — roughly ¥20 within 5 km and ¥30 within 10 km. After dark the flagfall rises to about ¥11.

Bus fare
¥1
Taxi flagfall
¥7 (about ¥11 at night)
Out of town
No meter — agree the price first
Rough guide
About ¥20 under 5 km · ¥30 under 10 km

Taxi drivers prefer tourists over locals and often quote a flat rate. Check the distance on a map and settle on the price before you get in.

Bicycles

The old town is on foot only, but a bicycle is the best way to reach the villages. Rental is ¥20–30 a day; shops cluster around Red Sun Square and some hostels lend bikes free. The routes to Shuhe and Baisha are the classic rides.

Rental
¥20–30 a day (mountain bikes about ¥30)
Lijiang → Shuhe
40–50 minutes
Shuhe → Baisha
20–30 minutes
Lijiang → Baisha
About 1 hour

Shopping

What to take home

Lijiang sells more, and more expensive, crafts than anywhere nearby. The same goods are often cheaper in Shuhe, or from stalls outside the north gate.

Horse bells

Lijiang's signature souvenir, and the town is full of them: bronze and old-bronze caravan bells, some with a hand-painted wooden plaque, each with its own note. Once hung on horses on the Tea Horse Road, they are now sold as tokens of safety and good fortune.

Pashmina shawls

The most-bought item in Lijiang, in silk, satin and brocade, often with auspicious patterns such as peonies or 'surplus year after year'. The Naxi 'seven-star' shawl, with its embroidered discs, symbolises a woman carrying the sun and moon. Buy them from streetside stalls, not the shops, for the same goods at a lower price.

Snow tea

A hollow, snow-white stalk tea from above 4,000 m, brewed on its own or with tea leaves and chrysanthemum. Cooling and slightly bitter, it is prized for clearing heat and thirst — light, cheap and unusual as a gift.

Dongba tie-dye and silver

Dongba tie-dye applies Naxi pictographs to the Bai and Miao dyeing craft, making cloth goods that are both decorative and symbolic. Hand-worked silver and bronze are the region's other tradition, with boldly sculpted jewellery, some of it made to order — but check the grade, as plenty of 'silver' is dressed-up white copper.

Practical

The numbers to save

Area code 0888. Staffed English help is not guaranteed — save these before you need them.

Emergency (police / ambulance / fire)110 · 120 · 119
Tourist complaints (Lijiang)0888-5123432 · 96927
Old town / Shuhe officesOld town district 0888-5105617 · Shuhe 0888-5174636
Post officeSifang Street branch, old town · 0888-5121012
Banks & ATMsFour big state banks in the old town, plus China Merchants at the edge; ATMs on Sifang Street
AltitudeOld town about 2,400 m; snow mountain 5,596 m; cable-car top 4,506 m
Altitude & sunStrong UV and dry air — sunscreen, hat, lip balm and water matter here
Key festivalsSanduo Festival (2nd lunar month, 8th day) · Torch Festival (6th lunar month, 25th–27th)

Tips

Small things that save a trip

Come in autumn

Early autumn is the best season — clear, high skies and colour everywhere. Spring is also good. Summer is the rainy season, and winter is dry and sunny but cold at night; whichever season, the day-to-night range is wide.

Pack a backpack, not a suitcase

The old town is cobbled and car-free, and wheeled cases are destroyed by the stones. A backpack you can carry is the single most useful thing you can bring.

Make altitude a plan

The town is at about 2,400 m, which most people handle easily; the snow mountain cable car reaches 4,506 m, which is not. Acclimatise in town for a day first, go slowly, and buy an oxygen can at the base if you are unsure.

Book the snow mountain ahead

The big cable car sells out, and the park has daily limits. Book online in advance, go on a clear morning, and check whether the peak is visible before you commit to the top.

Check the hot water

Guesthouse hot-water systems here vary, and in winter the heating does too. Ask to see the room and test the shower before you pay; in winter, confirm the heating is working.

Ride the villages, not just the town

The bicycle routes to Shuhe, Baisha and Yuhu are lovely and easy, and the villages are the part of Lijiang that still feels real. Allow a half-day and go early, before the tour buses.

Background

Why Lijiang looks like this

Geography and climate

Lijiang sits in north-west Yunnan, where the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau meets the Tibetan Plateau: to the north is Diqing, to the south Dali, to the west Nujiang, and to the east Sichuan. The old town clusters on the Lijiang plain at about 2,400 m, beneath Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, with snowmelt channelled down into the town from the north — which is why three canals thread through streets that look, at times, like a water town.

The climate is a plateau monsoon type: cool, with a big daily range and a small annual one, and dry and bright for much of the year. The air is thin, the sun strong and the ultraviolet high, so sunscreen and water matter more than you expect. July to September brings the rains; the rest of the year is largely fine.

History and the Naxi

The old town took shape in the Southern Song period, some 800 years ago, and was known in the Ming as 'Dayan Xiang' — a great inkstone, for the way the jade-green plain sits ringed by hills. It was never walled, which is unusual for a Chinese town, and it grew on trade: it was the great market of the Tea Horse Road, where caravans from Yunnan met those heading for Tibet and India.

The Naxi are the defining people here, and their Dongba culture is one of the richest in China: a pictographic script older in form than oracle-bone Chinese, a canon of Dongba texts that is also an encyclopaedia, Dongba painting, hand-made paper and the 'remeicuo' dance. The Naxi are also known for the 'pizi' shawl of the hard-working women, and for a syncretic faith that blends Dongba religion, Tibetan Buddhism and the local 'Sanduo' deity. After the Qing reforms of 1723, Han culture flowed in and made Lijiang a Naxi-Han blend — but the old town's bones are still very much its own.

Travel with them

Lijiang on screen and in print

Not guides — a few films, books and songs made in and about Lijiang, for the long evenings.

Film

One Metre of Sunshine (一米阳光)

TV series, filmed in Lijiang

A love story built on a Lijiang legend: in the cloud-wrapped heights of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain only a metre of sunlight ever breaks through, and whoever feels that metre of light finds the world's happiest love. Filmed here and in Shanghai, it drew a wave of romantics to the town.

Book

Behind Lijiang (丽江后面)

Yu Jian

A Lijiang from a Kunming-born poet, who writes the place he found rather than the one being sold — the slow, quiet days that once were, and the century of small culture the old town accumulated. It is a love letter with a note of grief for what has changed.

Book

The Soft Hours of Lijiang (丽江的柔软时光)

Big Tomato Media

A book about a way of life more than a place — the city-dweller's dream of a pastoral escape, set in Lijiang's soft, seductive light. Lazy yet busy, casual yet tidy, old-fashioned yet avant-garde, warmed by the cold of the snow mountain: it is the feeling that draws people here.

Music

Lijiang's Spring (丽江的春天)

Chen Sheng

The song that captures Lijiang's unhurried pace and the friendship made over it, set in the wide open highland air. Maybe one day you have to part — but don't forget Jade Dragon Snow Mountain's spring, where the friendship began. Wandering, as the lyric has it, is walking your own road.

The questions visitors ask us most about Lijiang, answered plainly.

Frequently asked questions

Prices and practical details are reviewed every month by our Beijing team and updated the day a rule changes.

How many days do I need in Lijiang?

Three days is the standard. Day one is the old town — Sifang Square, Wangu Tower, the Mu mansion and Black Dragon Pool; day two is Jade Dragon Snow Mountain with Blue Moon Valley and an evening show; day three is the quieter villages of Baisha and Shuhe. Add a day for Tiger Leaping Gorge, and another for Lugu Lake or a run towards Shangri-La.

Is Lijiang worth visiting, or too touristy?

It is touristy, and it is still worth it. The old town is a genuine UNESCO Naxi town rather than a rebuilt film set, and the crowds concentrate in a few streets along the canal — get up early, wander the lanes away from Sifang Square, and it is quiet and beautiful. The snow mountain and the northern villages are the real reward; treat the bars as background noise.

What is the best way to see Jade Dragon Snow Mountain?

Book the big cable car in advance and go on a clear morning. It reaches the glacier park at 4,506 m, from where a boardwalk leads to a viewpoint; the smaller cable cars serve the Spruce and Yaks' Meadow plateaus, which are gentler and greener. Allow a full day, bring a warm layer and buy an oxygen can if you need one, and check the weather — cloud can hide the peak for days.

Will I get altitude sickness in Lijiang?

Mostly no. The old town sits at about 2,400 m, where most people feel fine, perhaps a little short of breath after a flight. The risk rises with the snow mountain, whose cable car reaches 4,506 m — high enough to affect some people, so go slowly and don't over-exert. Give yourself a full day at town altitude first.

What should I eat in Lijiang?

Naxi food, led by cured-pork hotpot (larou paigu huoguo) and black goat hotpot, plus the local wheat flatbread called Lijiang baba, sold sweet or savoury. Look for jidou liangfen, a mung-bean jelly eaten cold in summer or fried, and the baked erkuai cakes. Sifang Square's short lane is nicknamed 'rice-noodle street' for the dozens of noodle shops packed into it.

What is there to do around Lijiang?

Plenty. Tiger Leaping Gorge is 60 km north, a half-day for the main viewpoint and two days for the high-trail trek. Baisha and Yuhu are quiet villages to the north, Lashi Lake is a bird-rich wetland nearby, and further out are Lugu Lake and the road towards Shangri-La. Lijiang is the base for all of north-west Yunnan.

How do I get to Lijiang from Kunming or Dali?

High-speed rail, about 3 hours from Kunming and 2 from Dali, into Lijiang station 20–30 minutes from the old town. Flying into Lijiang Sanyi (LJG) takes about 50 minutes from Kunming and saves time on longer journeys, but the train drops you nearer town and is not weather-dependent. Buses from Kunming's west station take 8–10 hours and are now the slow option.

Plan this trip

Prefer it arranged for you?

The same places, with a driver, an English-speaking guide and the tickets already bought.

Lijiang Lijiang Yunnan · 0 tours Lijiang is a UNESCO-listed Naxi old town of canals and cobbles below Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, at 2,400 m, and it is the cultural heart of north-west
See Lijiang tours & prices Lijiang tours

City guides

Dalian Dalian City guide · 15 tours The Northern Pearl — China's most romantic coastal city. Shenyang Shenyang City guide · 12 tours Where the Qing dynasty began — an imperial palace, a warlord's mansion and the cheapest good food in the northeast. Changbai Mountain Changbai Mountain City guide · 12 tours A volcano on the North Korean border, a jade-green crater lake at 2,189 m, and hot springs on the way down. Kunming Kunming City guide · 12 tours China's Spring City — a mild plateau capital of flowers, markets and the Stone Forest, with gulls on the lake in winter. Dali Dali City guide · 12 tours A walled Bai town between a 4,000 m mountain and a great lake — wind, flowers, snow and moon, and life at a slower speed. Shuhe Shuhe City guide · 12 tours The quiet version of Lijiang — a Tea Horse Road village of canals, stone bridges and slow afternoons, 4 km from the crowds. Xiamen Xiamen City guide · 12 tours A subtropical island city of temples, fishing-village lanes and the best street food in Fujian — with the car-free islet of Gulangyu a 20-minute ferry away. Gulangyu Gulangyu City guide · 12 tours A car-free island of colonial villas, pianos and cats, twenty minutes off Xiamen — and the one place where the trick is simply to stay the night. Fuzhou Fuzhou City guide · 12 tours A 2,200-year-old capital of banyan trees and mountains-within-the-city, where the Ming lanes of Sanfang Qixiang meet the dockyard that built China's modern navy. Lugu Lake Lugu Lake City guide · 12 tours A 2,680 m lake on the Yunnan–Sichuan border, home to China's last matrilineal people, pig-trough canoes and a great deal of doing nothing. Xishuangbanna Xishuangbanna City guide · 12 tours China's tropical south — rainforest, wild elephants, Dai villages and the Mekong, wrapped around the gateway city of Jinghong. Shangri-La Shangri-La City guide · 12 tours A Tibetan town at 3,300 m in Yunnan's Diqing prefecture — monasteries, grassland, prayer wheels and cold thin air. Nanchang Nanchang City guide · 12 tours Jiangxi's 'hero city' on the Gan River — one great Tang pavilion, a 160-metre Ferris wheel, and the best claypot soup you will eat in China. Hefei Hefei City guide · 12 tours Anhui's 2,000-year-old capital: the hometown of China's model judge, a moat-turned-garden ring, and the fast rail gateway to Huangshan. Hongcun Hongcun City guide · 12 tours A 900-year-old Hui village laid out as an ox, with water running to every door and a mirror-still crescent pond at its heart. Wuhan Wuhan City guide · 12 tours Three towns, two rivers and the best breakfast in China — a huge, blunt river city of bridges, lakes and cheap, brilliant street food. Changsha Changsha City guide · 12 tours Hunan's loud, young capital: a 3,000-year-old city that eats chilli-hot food, stays up all night and treats foot massage as a civic duty. Fenghuang Ancient Town Fenghuang Ancient Town City guide · 12 tours The stilt-house river town of Shen Congwen's 'Border Town' — glowing lanterns, stepping stones and the best two nights in western Hunan. Lushan Lushan City guide · 12 tours A cloud-wrapped granite mountain with a Victorian hill station on top, waterfalls in three tiers, and the mist that Su Shi said you could never see through. Wuyuan Wuyuan City guide · 12 tours China's 'most beautiful countryside' — dozens of white-walled Huizhou villages strung along streams and terraced into the hills, and two weeks a year of gold. Mount Heng (Hengshan, Hunan) Mount Heng (Hengshan, Hunan) City guide · 12 tours The South Great Peak: a pilgrimage mountain of 72 summits where the temples run all the way to the top, and the sunrise over the cloud sea is the whole point. Huangshan Huangshan City guide · 12 tours Yellow Mountain: 82 granite peaks of twisted pines and grotesque rock, a sea of cloud that changes by the hour, and hot springs at the foot. Wudang Mountain Wudang Mountain City guide · 12 tours The Taoist first mountain of China — a gilded bronze hall on a 1,612 m summit, temples hung off cliff faces, and the birthplace of tai chi. Luoyang Luoyang City guide · 12 tours Thirteen dynasties, 100,000 Buddhas carved into a river cliff, China's first Buddhist temple — and a whole city that turns peony-pink every April. Yuntai Mountain Yuntai Mountain City guide · 12 tours A UNESCO geopark in Henan where red-stone gorges squeeze a river to a slot, a 314 m waterfall drops in one plunge, and every path leads to another pool. Rizhao Rizhao City guide · 12 tours A low-key Shandong beach town where the sun rises straight out of the Yellow Sea, the sand runs 60 km and a seafood dinner costs less than a coffee in Shanghai. Yantai Yantai City guide · 12 tours A northern Shandong port of fairy-tale cliffs, wine cellars and long golden beaches — where emperors once hunted the elixir of life and China's wine industry still begins. Lianyungang Lianyungang City guide · 12 tours A working Jiangsu port with a myth in the middle of it — the Flower-Fruit Mountain of Journey to the West, a sea causeway to a big island beach, and some of the cheapest seafood on the coast. Sanqing Mountain Sanqing Mountain City guide · 12 tours A vertical forest of granite pillars in Jiangxi — the Python Out of the Mountain, the Goddess of the East Sea, two cable cars and a cliff-hugging walkway at 1,660 metres. Tianjin Tianjin City guide · 12 tours Beijing's port city next door — a river of 24 bridges, 2,000 colonial villas, and the best street breakfast in northern China. Datong Datong City guide · 12 tours A frontier capital of carved Buddhas — the Yungang Grottoes, a temple pinned to a cliff, and the oldest wooden tower in China. Taiyuan Taiyuan City guide · 12 tours Shanxi's provincial capital and noodle heartland — the spring of Jinci, two Ming pagodas, and a museum that explains the whole province. Pingyao Pingyao City guide · 12 tours China's best-preserved ancient walled town — a Ming wall, the first Chinese bank, and two temples of painted clay just outside the gates. Wutai Mountain Wutai Mountain City guide · 12 tours China's foremost Buddhist mountain — fifty-plus temples in one valley, crowned by five flat-topped peaks up to 3,058 m. Hulunbuir Hulunbuir City guide · 12 tours China's finest grassland — a 263,000 km² sweep of steppe, birch forest and border river, best driven with the windows down. The Forbidden City The Forbidden City City guide · 12 tours Beijing's 600-year imperial palace — 8,700 rooms behind a 72-hectare wall, and the largest surviving wooden palace complex on earth. Sanya Sanya City guide · 12 tours China's only true winter-sun coast — four very different bays, a coral island and a 108 m sea Buddha, all at 18° north. Haikou Haikou City guide · 12 tours Hainan's capital is the island's living city — 600-year-old arcade streets, a volcanic village, and a morning-tea-to-midnight food culture. Beihai Beihai City guide · 12 tours 24 km of fine white sand on one side, a volcanic island of coral and lava on the other — plus a 19th-century arcade old street in between. Nanning Nanning City guide · 12 tours Guangxi's green capital is a gateway to Detian Falls, Beihai and Vietnam — and a genuinely excellent food city if you let it slow you down. Guangxi Guangxi City guide · 12 tours One autonomous region, a dozen landscapes — limestone peaks and rice terraces in the north, a Vietnam border and a warm gulf coast in the south. Huizhou Huizhou City guide · 12 tours A free West Lake, a Taoist mountain and 200 km of white-sand coast — the Pearl River Delta's most underrated weekend. Beidaihe Beidaihe City guide · 12 tours Northern China's classic beach escape — one sunrise headland, 10 km of calm swimming water, and a bird flyway overhead twice a year. Shanhaiguan Shanhaiguan City guide · 12 tours The town where the Great Wall stops being a rumour of mountains and walks into the Bohai Sea. Baiyangdian Baiyangdian City guide · 12 tours The biggest freshwater lake on the North China Plain — and almost none of it can be reached except by boat. Qinhuangdao Qinhuangdao City guide · 12 tours 126 km of Bohai coast in one municipality — a working port, two famous resorts, and the only desert dunes that meet this sea. Yesanpo Yesanpo City guide · 12 tours Gorge country where the Taihang and Yan ranges collide — 52.5 km of canyon walls, a cave that spits fish, and a river to fall off. Zhuhai Zhuhai City guide · 12 tours The delta's slow city: a 28 km promenade, 146 islands, oysters fattened where the river meets the sea. Wuyi Mountain Wuyi Mountain City guide · 12 tours Nine bends of clear water, red sandstone cliffs, and the tea that made a mountain's name. Jiuzhaigou Jiuzhaigou City guide · 12 tours 108 mineral-blue lakes in one 55 km valley — the place that ruins water everywhere else for you. Mount Siguniang Mount Siguniang City guide · 12 tours Four snow peaks, three valleys, and the friendliest 5,000 m mountain in China to stand on top of. Hailuogou Hailuogou City guide · 12 tours A glacier that comes down to 2,850 m, hot springs in the forest, and Gongga Shan filling the sky above both. Daocheng Yading Daocheng Yading City guide · 12 tours Three 6,000 m sacred peaks, glacial lakes at 4,600 m and twenty hours of road — the hardest, highest payoff in Sichuan. Shunan Bamboo Sea Shunan Bamboo Sea City guide · 12 tours Seventy thousand mu of bamboo over twenty-eight hills, a red sandstone corridor under a closed green roof, and a banquet made entirely of bamboo. Dujiangyan Dujiangyan City guide · 12 tours Not a monument but a machine: three pieces of engineering with no dam, still doing their job after 2,270 years. Qingcheng Mountain Qingcheng Mountain City guide · 12 tours The mountain where Daoism was organised, and the one Chengdu escapes to when the basin turns into an oven. Qingdao Qingdao City guide · 12 tours Red-tiled roofs, cold beer and a granite mountain that walks straight into the sea — the easiest good time on the Yellow Sea. Mount Tai Mount Tai City guide · 12 tours 1,545 metres, 6,290 stone steps and three thousand years of emperors — the one mountain in China that is also a document. Jinan Jinan City guide · 12 tours A provincial capital with 700 springs under the pavement — people still queue at the spouts to fill their kettles. Weihai Weihai City guide · 12 tours 1,000 km of clean coast, a free bathing beach, the island where the Beiyang Fleet died — and thousands of wild swans every winter. Qufu Qufu City guide · 12 tours One family, two thousand years of steles, and a ¥150 pass that covers the lot — the easiest serious day trip in Shandong. Penglai Penglai City guide · 12 tours China's immortals' coast — a Song-dynasty naval harbour you can walk for free, a mythology nobody ever found, and the ferry to 32 islands. Changdao Changdao City guide · 12 tours 32 islands, one causeway, a ¥150 land pass, tens of thousands of gulls and nowhere you can drive — the place where everything happens by boat. Nanjing Nanjing City guide · 12 tours Capital of six dynasties, capital of the Republic, and the city that eats more duck than anywhere else on earth. Suzhou Suzhou City guide · 12 tours Two thousand five hundred years of canals, sixty surviving gardens, and a city that shuts its gates at half past five. Zhouzhuang Zhouzhuang City guide · 12 tours Nine hundred years, fourteen bridges, one ticket — and a town that only makes sense before eight in the morning. Tongli Tongli City guide · 12 tours Fifteen canals, seven islets, forty-nine bridges — and a town that still gets up at dawn because it lives here. Wuxi Wuxi City guide · 12 tours Taihu on one side, a Grand Buddha on the next hill, and ribs sweet enough to argue about — the most underrated city on the Yangtze delta. Yangzhou Yangzhou City guide · 12 tours A city built by salt merchants who had more money than restraint — gardens, a narrow lake, and the best breakfast in China. Zhenjiang Zhenjiang City guide · 12 tours Three hills, one ferry landing, and an unreasonable share of Chinese literature — the Yangtze city people drive past. Changzhou Changzhou City guide · 12 tours A 2,500-year-old canal city that built a dinosaur park and refuses to apologise for it. Wuzhen Wuzhen City guide · 12 tours A town that is two towns: the older, quieter East Zone and the lit-up West Zone you sleep inside. Xitang Xitang City guide · 12 tours Nine canals, 122 lanes, one long roofed corridor — and a town that still works for a living. Hangzhou Hangzhou City guide · 12 tours A lake in the middle of a city, a tea village in the hills, and two thousand years of getting the mood right. Xixi Wetland Xixi Wetland City guide · 12 tours Ten square kilometres of marsh inside Hangzhou, and the only way into half of it is a boat. Ningbo Ningbo City guide · 12 tours A 7,000-year-old port with Asia's oldest private library, a free waterfront 20 years older than Shanghai's, and the best seafood before the islands. Mount Putuo Mount Putuo City guide · 12 tours A Buddhist island with no cars, three great temples and a ¥10 lunch that is the point of the place. Qiandao Lake Qiandao Lake City guide · 12 tours A thousand islands that did not exist sixty years ago, and the cleanest big-lake water in China. Shaoxing Shaoxing City guide · 12 tours Two and a half thousand years of water-town China, and Lu Xun's house is free. Zhoushan Zhoushan City guide · 12 tours 1,390 islands, one road bridge in, and a harbour that lands more fish than almost anywhere on earth. Hengdian Hengdian City guide · 12 tours A backlot the size of a town, where the palaces are copies and the film crews are real. Yandang Mountain Yandang Mountain City guide · 12 tours A volcano that weathering turned into scenery — 500-odd sights of peak, cave and waterfall across eight scenic areas. Zhejiang Zhejiang City guide · 12 tours One small, mountainous, absurdly rich province that holds a lake, two canal towns, a Buddhist island and a dead volcano. Hong Kong Outlying Islands Hong Kong Outlying Islands City guide · 12 tours Two hundred-odd islands, half an hour of ferry from the financial district, and not a car on three of them. Hong Kong Shopping Hong Kong Shopping City guide · 12 tours A duty-free port where the tag starts lower, two citywide sale seasons knock a third off, and every mall sits on an MTR exit. Macao Macao City guide · 12 tours Four hundred years of Portuguese streets, a fake Venice under a painted sky, and the best egg tart in Asia. Urumqi Urumqi City guide · 12 tours The city furthest from the sea, with a snow range on its doorstep and dinner starting at nine. Hong Kong SAR, China Hong Kong SAR, China City guide · 11 tours A harbour skyline you already know by heart, dim sum trolleys at dawn, and 260 islands an hour from the neon. Taiwan, China Taiwan, China City guide · 11 tours Night-market alleys, high-mountain railways, and a coastline that changes character every hundred kilometres. Qinghai Lake Qinghai Lake City guide · 12 tours A 4,400 sq km inland sea at 3,200 m, ringed by rapeseed gold, prayer flags and the best cycling road in China. Mount Emei Mount Emei City guide · 11 tours A 3,099-metre Buddhist summit you can reach by cable car before lunch — and a mountain full of monkeys that will absolutely rob you. Beijing Beijing City guide · 11 tours Six centuries of imperial red walls, a Great Wall you can climb before lunch, and the best roast duck on earth. Taipei Taipei City guide · 11 tours A 24-hour bookstore, a night market that never stops sizzling, and a city that apologises when you bump into it. North Xinjiang North Xinjiang City guide · 11 tours Alpine lakes the colour of poured enamel, a village of log cabins under birch trees, and the last tear the Atlantic ever sheds. Lanzhou Lanzhou City guide · 11 tours A city split in half by the Yellow River, where beef noodles are a breakfast ritual and the Silk Road still runs through the streets. Mount Hua Mount Hua City guide · 11 tours Five granite peaks, one plank road bolted to a cliff face, and a sunrise that justifies the 2am start. Dunhuang Dunhuang City guide · 11 tours A desert oasis where Buddhist cave art survived a thousand years and a crescent lake refused to dry up. Gannan Gannan City guide · 11 tours 433 kilometres of the Yellow River's first bend, a 3.5 km prayer-wheel circuit, and Tibetan grasslands almost nobody has commercialised yet. Sichuan–Tibet Highway Sichuan–Tibet Highway City guide · 11 tours 2,142 kilometres of cliff-edge switchbacks, four of China's most beautiful mountains, and a road the Tibetans walk on their knees. Kangding Kangding City guide · 11 tours The town that gave Asia its most famous love song, a 7,556m sacred peak on its doorstep, and the last real Tibetan town before the road climbs to Lhasa. Lhasa Lhasa City guide · 12 tours A city of prayer wheels and butter lamps at 3,700 metres, where the sun shines 3,000 hours a year and the world's highest palace watches over it all. Nyingchi Nyingchi City guide · 11 tours Tibet's greenest corner — peach blossom valleys, a 7,782 m peak that hides from almost everyone, and the world's deepest canyon. Namtso Namtso City guide · 11 tours A 1,920-square-kilometre sheet of impossible blue at 4,718 metres, ringed by snow peaks and prayer flags. Chongqing Chongqing City guide · 12 tours A vertical city of fog, cable cars and cliff-side stilt houses, where the火锅 never stops boiling and the night skyline outshines Hong Kong. Qiandongnan Qiandongnan City guide · 11 tours A thousand Miao households stacked up a mountainside, drum towers and wind-rain bridges in Dong villages, and a 600-year-old Ming garrison town on the road to Guiyang. Libo Libo City guide · 11 tours Emerald rivers threading through karst peaks, a 600-metre forest growing out of a riverbed, and China's largest wild plum grove. Guiyang Guiyang City guide · 11 tours China's summer capital at 1,100 metres, where the nights run on sour fish soup, street-side barbecue and mahjong that never quite stops. Zhenyuan Zhenyuan City guide · 11 tours A 2,000-year-old river town where the Wuyang River carves an S through the mountains and every lane hides a story. Huangguoshu Huangguoshu City guide · 11 tours Asia's biggest waterfall, and the only one on earth you can walk behind, above and around — plus 600-year-old Ming dynasty villages a short drive away. Harbin Harbin City guide · 11 tours Minus 30 degrees, a frozen river you can walk across, and a cathedral built by Russians who never went home. Yunnan Yunnan City guide · 11 tours Snow mountains, tropical rainforest, twenty-five minorities and a plate of rice noodles — all in one province. Shanghai Shanghai City guide · 11 tours A 1920s waterfront of colonial banks facing a science-fiction skyline, soup dumplings you eat with a straw, and 20 million people moving like clockwork. Zhangjiajie Zhangjiajie City guide · 11 tours Three thousand sandstone pillars straight out of Avatar, a glass skywalk bolted to a cliff, and a cable car that leaves from downtown. Guangzhou Guangzhou City guide · 11 tours A 2,200-year-old trading port where dim sum is a religion, colonial islands sit beside 600-metre towers, and the food never stops. Guilin Guilin City guide · 11 tours Karst peaks rising straight out of a green river, rice terraces carved into mountainsides, and the best bowl of noodles you'll eat in China. Shenzhen Shenzhen City guide · 11 tours A fishing village that became a megacity in forty years — and it still has 500-year-old banyans, empty beaches and dim sum worth the border crossing. Chengdu Chengdu City guide · 11 tours A 3,000-year-old city where the schedule is tea, mahjong and hotpot — and the pandas are just the opening act. Xinjiang Xinjiang City guide · 11 tours Snow peaks, grassland, desert and oasis — one-sixth of China, and the longest road you will ever ride. Xi'an Xi'an City guide · 14 tours Thirteen dynasties of emperors, a terracotta army buried for 2,200 years, and a walled city you can cycle in 100 minutes. Qinghai Qinghai City guide · 11 tours China's high-altitude blue heart: a salt lake you can walk on, a 3,200-metre sea, and yak butter tea at the roof of the world. Tibet Tibet City guide · 11 tours A plateau the size of Western Europe where the sky starts at your feet, prayer flags carry the wind, and the roads run past 8,000-metre peaks.

Related reading

Related reading

Visas Do I Need a Visa for China? Requirements, Costs and How to Apply China's entry rules changed more in the last three years than in the previous twenty. Here is exactly who needs a visa, what it costs, how long it takes and which passports now walk straight through. 9 min read Visas China's 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit: Who Qualifies and How It Works Ten days in China with no visa application, no fee and no fingerprints — if you hold the right passport and leave for a third country. Here is the rulebook, port by port. 8 min read Money Paying in China: Alipay, WeChat Pay, Cards and Cash Roughly nine in ten urban payments in China now run through a phone. Set up two apps before you fly, carry a modest cash float, and you will never be stuck at a till. 8 min read Transport China's High-Speed Rail: How to Book, What It Costs, How Fast It Goes The fastest way to cross China is also the most pleasant. Here is how to book a ticket with a foreign passport, what the three classes actually give you, and how to survive a Chinese station at rush hour. 9 min read Planning Best Time to Visit China: Month by Month, Region by Region China is the size of Europe, so 'the best month' depends on where you stand. Here is the month-by-month answer for the north, the Yangtze valley, the south and the plateau. 8 min read Planning What to Pack for China: The Complete 2026 Checklist Twenty thousand steps a day, three climate zones and a phone that has to do everything. This is the list we give our own travellers, minus the things they never used. 7 min read Food Chinese Food Culture: Eight Cuisines, One Table There is no such thing as Chinese food. There is Cantonese, Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Anhui and Shandong — and knowing which one you are eating changes everything. 8 min read Traditions Chinese Tea Culture: Six Classes, One Pot, Two Fingers Tea in China is not a beverage category, it is a social technology: it fills silences, seals deals and sets the pace of a meal. Here is how to sit down in one and not look lost. 7 min read Traditions Chinese Festivals: The Calendar, the Dates and the Crowds Lunar dates mean the calendar moves every year — and two of the festivals move several hundred million people at once. Plan around them or plan into them, but never by accident. 8 min read Etiquette Chinese Etiquette: What Matters, What Does Not, and Why Most etiquette advice for China is either obvious or wrong. These are the dozen behaviours that actually change how you are treated, and the reasoning behind each. 7 min read

Explore next

Lijiang trips and tickets

More city guides

Combine Lijiang with

Sort out before you fly

Understand the place

Tell us your dates.
We'll do the rest.

Free itinerary design, a revised plan within one working day, and nothing charged until you approve the final version.

  • The old town (Dayan) is a UNESCO site and a real Naxi town, not a rebuilt set — canals, cobbles and wooden houses, 800 years old.
  • 3 days is standard: old town, then Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, then the northern villages. Add a day for Tiger Leaping Gorge.
  • The snow mountain's big cable car tops out at 4,506 m — book the ticket early, take the altitude seriously, and go on a clear morning.

No spam. No sales calls. Just a real itinerary from a real person.